There haven’t been many bright spots in 2023 for the 2-14 Carolina Panthers. Nonetheless, their brightest (and biggest) one isn’t that hard to find.
All you have to do is look for the 6-foot-5, 320-pound man in the middle of the defensive line that’s eating up all the opposing ball carriers.
After his eight takedowns in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Derrick Brown is now up to 96 combined tackles on the campaign. That total sits just two behind the single-season NFL record for a defensive tackle, which was set by Miami’s Christian Wilkins in 2022.
Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero spoke about Brown’s phenomenally productive year a few weeks ago.
“People are definitely accountin’ for him,” Evero said back on Dec. 14. “He’s gettin’ more blockers, more attention, the center turn—all those different types of things. But he’s been so disruptive—run game and pass game. A lot of people are gonna focus on the run, and rightfully so, he’s done a heck of a job.
“But you even look at the rush production—and yeah he only has one sack, I believe—but he’s affectin’ the quarterback and he’s pushin’ the pocket and he’s done a lot of good things. Obviously, he’s knockin’ the ball down, a lot of batted balls. He’s playin’ at a Pro Bowl-level, that’s for damn sure.”
In addition to those 96 tackles, the ascending fourth-year defender has tallied his second career interception, 13 quarterback hits and 48 stops—the most amongst all interior defensive linemen, per Pro Football Focus.
Brown, who has notched at least three tackles in each of his past five games, has a chance to hit No. 99 in this Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
[lawrence-related id=688467,688451,688425]